This Gear is not recommended when attempting the Blue Ribbon Challenges in Clash in the Clouds, as it might interfere and cause the player to fail the challenge. As an example: If a Soldier becomes possessed during the "Defeat all enemies with the Sky-Hook melee" challenge on wave 1 of the Raven's Dome map, you will automatically fail.

The name comes from the famous proverb, "Spare the rod; spoil the child", meaning a lack of discipline leads to poor behavior and manners in children. It is often credited to the King James Bible's Book of Proverbs 13:24 (He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes), although it more likely to come from a 17th Century poem by Samuel Butler called “Hudibras": What medicine else can cure the fits, of lovers when they lose their wits? Love is a boy by poets styled, then spare the rod and spoil the child. The line is also spoken by Comstock just before the showdown at the cemetery.